Free Fierce Player (Sierra Pride Book 4) by Liza Street Page B

laughable, at best. She’d kicked him to the curb as quickly as possible, but unfortunately, he’d taken some of her self-confidence and trust with him.
    Swiping her fingers across her tablet, she watched the simulation as the hulking monster character jumped out at her. The game itself was coming along great, and now she was finessing some of the timing. She wanted the monster to scare the heroine, but somehow, no matter when or how he popped up around a wall, Kate herself was surprised. It was a game, dammit. Unfortunately, she’d been having weird feelings of being followed in real life.
    She probably should lay off the gaming a little bit.
    Sighing, she jotted down a note and said to Trina, “The monster needs to be moved.”
    “Hmm,” Trina said. “Tell me why each time we move that corner and that monster, you move it again.”
    “I can’t help it,” Kate said. “I’m scared—”

Chapter Three
    “I can’t help it,” she said, her voice a whisper. It was almost too quiet for his ears. “I’m scared—”
    Unable to wait another second, he rushed over to her.
    She looked up, her dark blue eyes wide with shock, which then turned to anger.
    He skidded to a stop next to her. She didn’t look scared—she looked pissed.
    “You want me to get off the phone, right?” she said.
    “What?” he sputtered. “I—no, I thought—”
    She muttered into the phone, “Gotta go,” and ended the call. Glaring up at Maverick, she said, “There. I’m off, okay?”
    “Are you all right?”
    “Seriously?” She shook her head, and those tempting earrings glittered. “You come over here, interrupt my phone call, and then stand there like you’re doing me a favor. Why do I need to get off the phone? Until you came in, this room was empty except for me.”
    Wow, she talked fast. Maverick tried to piece it all together. Did she not realize that other guy was over there, just beyond the cases? Turning, he saw that the man was out of sight from this angle. He didn’t want to argue with her about that, though, and put her even more on the defensive. “But I heard you say you were scared.”
    “It’s a game ,” she said.
    “What?”
    “A game? Like, that people play? I’m developing one. Or haven’t you heard of girl gamers before? And how could you hear me anyway?”
    “I—”
    “Forget it.” She powered down her tablet and zipped it into its case before throwing that, a notebook, and her phone into her messenger bag. There was a tiny tattoo on the inside of her wrist, and he tried to see what it was, but she moved too quickly. “I’ll go somewhere else.”
    “You don’t have to do that.”
    She sighed, and a blush crept up from her neck to her cheeks. “Yeah, I do. Look, I know I broke the rules, I just didn’t think anyone would care on a Friday night when no one was around.”
    No, no no. He didn’t want her to be unhappy, and he definitely didn’t want her to leave. “You can stay,” he said.
    “Right, if I stay off the phone. I have to get some work done, and I’ll find a coffee shop or something.”
    She yanked her hair into a sloppy bun and slung her messenger bag over her shoulder. Then she rushed out of the room, taking springtime with her.
    Wow. He’d never been so speechless in front of a girl before, and he stared after her longingly, wishing he could have made her listen to him for a second. Her pink cheeks—had he embarrassed her?
    As he retrieved his cart, he saw that the burly guy in the window seat had stood up and was typing something into his phone, looking in the direction the girl had gone.
    Maverick wondered if that was part of her game, too.
    He had the feeling it probably wasn’t.

Chapter Four
    That librarian had gotten to her. He of the hipster glasses and button-up shirt and perfectly-fitting jeans. Her face still felt hot. She didn’t like breaking the rules, but she’d really thought it wouldn’t matter, and while she’d been indignant at first, then she felt